Last Samurai [Blu-ray Steelbook]

Tom Cruise is a famous actor worldwide. Most of you have seen his work in various films, such as A Few Good Men or Jerry Maguire. However, Tom is back in a new movie, which takes the audience back into an era of the past - one that surrounds us in the days of the Civil War. Tom Cruise portrays a man named Nathan Algren, who is a hero during the Civil War, but is disillusioned of the terrible killings he had to perform under the leadership of Colonel Bagloney against the American Indians. He is hired, by the Japanese Emperor, to take down another rebellion by leading a army of Japanese peasants that never saw a gun in their life. Even though he trains them for a time, the rebels attack and Algren is ordered to track them down and defeat the adversary, despite the fact that more training is needed. Fighting somewhere in the forests of Japan, his army is easily defeated and the rebels capture him and take him back to their village. Becoming a captive and not having a chance to escape, due to the fact that winter's coming, Algren spends his time with these people, already inspired and intrigued. He comes to learn that these people are "Samurai", who serve the Emperor and follow life through a different path and a set of principles that keep their life in balance, using such values as loyalty, duty, and compassion, just to name a few. Only one problem remains - Japan is facing a new modernized world and is seeking to keep up with the times by throwing away the traditions of old in favor of a more-friendly government. The rebellion, lead by a samurai named Katsumoto (portrayed by Ken Watanbe), despies that idea and fight back in order to keep their sacred ways alive. Gaining his sense of honor and redemption back, Algren joins the Samurai and aids them in a fierce battle that decides Japan's history for the rest of time. The movie does have its dose of action scenes and story moments, but what really make this movie unique are its philosophical moments. The Samurai, as you know, are people that follow the way of the Bushido, the traditional code of the Japanese samurai, stressing honor, self-discipline, bravery, and simple living. It's the type of values that most people wish to live by, but the Samurai go far beyond that. If they are defeated in battle, then it means that they have dishonored themselves and their clan, thus will kill them for disgracing their families and those close to him or her. It's a tough life, to be sure, but it's the principles of their life that stands out. Tom Cruise said it best about the Samurai: "They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such strong discipline." In order for the movie to display any realism, the movie was shot around various locations in Japan, from a temple located in Kyoto to a small Japanese town called Himeji. Not only the locations needed to be authentic, but also so did everything else, as this movie took place in two different worlds. Everything had to blend in for the movie a sense of honesty into the whole project. Though there is some historical inconsistencies in the plot, since this is based on a certain era in the past, those can be looked past. The action is wild, but again, had to be realistic. So realistic, in fact, that there was some close calls on the set. Tom Cruise could have died, since an actor's sword nearly beheaded him. That's just one example, but just by checking out the loads of extras on the DVDs, the entire team was committed to the project, making sure that everything went smooth and made the picture look good as a whole. The fighting sequences also add some depth and insight as to how the Japanese and Americans deal with combat, especially in the climatic battle that had both samurai and soldier confronting each other in the end. Overall, The Last Samurai is worth checking out, especially if you are a student of Japanese history or if you're into everything or anything Japanese. It's also some of Tom Cruise's best work by far. Anyone that's a huge fan of Cruise ought to pick up The Last Samurai.

Love the movie. Great story and acting.

Dam good movie very entertaining and good story line. good plot with good actors

Love this movie and its soundtrack.

Great action/drama.

I have loved this movie since it was first released and have the original DVD release which I have watched several times. Most all the reviews I see here are either for the Standard DVD and focus on the great story line and acting but not the quality of the DVD itself. Yes, Tom Cruse does shows some wonderful acting chops and, yes, Ken Watanabe steals the show but let's move on. So this one will focus on the Blu-ray DVD's quality. Bought the Blu-ray version from Amazon and it was delivered post haste. When I first looked at the back cover information I was disappointed that the audio was Dolby Digital 5.1 rather than a lossless DTSHD 5.1, almost thought of returning it before even watching but am glad I kept it. The video quality of the movie is fairly pristine with no artifacting, good details in the shadows and a sparkling clear transfer. While the audio quality is not the higher end DTSHD, never the less, the audio engineers did a fine job with the front and rear surrounds used subtly for action( actually, during the battle scenes, the rears deserved more discreet use of the rear channels) however, during the rainy scenes, of which there are many, the audio is evenly spread to all channels enveloping you in the rainstorm. The many extras on the single disc are from the 2004 standard release and there are only 2 deleted scenes that, to me, could have been included in an extended version. I wish more extended deleted scenes had been included. The supplied extras were all interesting and, as I said before, had seen them on the original release so nothing new on that front. Should you buy this on Blu-ray? Yes, the video quality is definitely superior, however, not by that much. The original release was pretty darn good. However, if you don't already have the Standard version, go for the Blu Ray. I remain disappointed with the lossy audio but it still provides an excellent film. All my movie reviews are of this nature and focus only on the quality of the transfer to BluRay. Hopefully, this review has been of some help to you in determining your purchase, hope I am on the correct path with a review of the transfer quality as opposed to providing plot summaries. Thanks

great movie overall i have no queries at all

Awsome movie